


Forming a Team

by TheWriterTriad



Series: Splatoon Oneshots [4]
Category: Splatoon
Genre: Splatoon manga
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 05:47:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15550989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWriterTriad/pseuds/TheWriterTriad
Summary: After his first defeat at the hands of the blue team, Rider starts to question his mentality regarding turf wars. Coming to the conclusion that he can't win on his own, he goes hunting for new teammates





	Forming a Team

“...how’d they win…” Rider growled to himself as he wrecked targets in Sheldon’s firing range. The dynamo roller, normally barely a burden, felt heavier in his hands than normal. His green eyes were narrowed in rage, a nasty scowl present on his face as the older teen unleashed attack after attack on the dummies. Try as he might, though, this training session just wasn’t going well for him. Yes lime ink surrounded the targets, but several of them had taken multiple hits to splat, an anomaly for a skilled fighter like himself. The lime tentacled inkling’s battle reflexes seemed to be dulled, dormant even, as if they had fallen into some kind of slumber and try as he might the teenager couldn’t awaken them. 

Needless to say, it annoyed him. No, it beyond annoyed him. How could a little scrub beat someone as powerful as himself?

“...it was my teammates…” A scowl appeared on his face. “They weren’t good enough.” 

_‘You know that’s not true,’_ a nagging voice said in his mind. _‘You lost because your team wasn’t coordinated, and that’s on you. Throwing a random team together for the tournament was a lousy idea.’_

“...shut up…” Rider muttered. “I don’t need a team. One good player is all you need to win, and I’m an exceptional fighter.” 

_‘A fat lot of good that did you. You still lost because the blue team had something your team didn’t - trust and teamwork.’_

“I don’t need something like teamwork! It’ll only drag me down,” the lime tentacled inkling snarled. “And why am I arguing with myself anyway? It’s stupid and I look like an idiot.”

With another frustrated sigh, Rider went back to working on perfecting his latest technique with the dynamo, a faster flick with a twist added in to increase the horizontal spread. So far it just didn’t seem to be clicking, something that only served to put him in a worse mood. Eventually, he gave up, leaning up against the wall with a peeved look on his face. 

“What’s gotten into me?” His question rang in the air, unanswered. Then again, no one was around to provide one. This was something that Rider would have to figure out himself. 

* * *

A few days passed, and nothing seemed to be going well for him. The turf wars he had been in mostly resulted in losses rather than the crushing defeats Rider was used to giving his opponents. Try as he might, some kind of spark had left him after being beaten by the idiots on the blue team. That was how the green tentacled inkling thought of them anyway, ridiculous idiots. Although admittedly it was rather entertaining to watch them fumble their way through turf wars. Sometimes they won, sometimes they lost, but no matter what they always seemed to have fun together. Bobble and Goggles especially always had smiles plastered across their faces, paired with raucous laughter. Even when faced with defeat the team usually still was cheerful, simply because they were hanging out together. 

_‘I wish I had friends like them...wait, what?’_ Ryker stiffened as that thought drifted across his brain. _‘I can’t seriously be jealous of them...can I?’_

Admittedly, now that he thought about it, a team would be nice. He’d have friends to watch his back, and more importantly be able to coordinate strategies with them. Would anyone want to be his friend though? The teenager did have quite the reputation of being a lone wolf, mocking teammates and treating them like they were worthless. He could be so cruel. Look at what he’d done to Stealth, Bamboo, and Blazer during the battle with Goggles’ team. Those three had been treated as disposable, worthless save for their ability to launch inkstrikes. It was, in truth, a poor example of sportsmanship. 

“...I need a team…” The words slipped out of his mouth unbidden, surprising him. But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Rider needed a team. But the big question now was who to ask? Would anyone even want to work with him? He was cruel, cold and unforgiving and a glacier. 

Sighing again, the grumpy teenager leaned against the wall, trying to think. Goggles? No, he already was on a team. One of the S4? No, they had their own teams as well, and besides, they had all made it clear that he was nowhere near their skill level. Rider supposed that it would be possible to just ask random inklings but did he really want to just ask three newbies? Not really. 

Wait, that was it. Random inklings. He did have a team, a temporary team he had to form for the tournament. They had all been random inklings he’d kind of roped into fighting with him, though admittedly he had been a poor teammate. 

“Stealth, Bamboo, and Blazer,” Rider mumbled, bolting upright. “I’ve fought with them before, perhaps they’d be willing to team up again. It’s worth a shot at the very least.” 

With that bit of resolve in his mind, Rider grabbed his dynamo and headed towards the exit of the training grounds. He had teammates to go find.

An hour later he was wandering around Inkopolis, searching for any of his one-time teammates. In all honesty, he doubted that Bamboo or Blazer would be in the square. The former was probably off doing her wood carvings again, and the latter was most likely studying. But Stealth...Stealth might be lurking somewhere in the plaza. He was more of a fighter than the other two after all. 

So far, however, there had been no sign of the younger teen or his familiar stealth goggles anywhere. He hadn’t been hanging out in the lobby of Inkopolis Tower, or in Booyah Base. Nor was the teen anywhere in one of the small restaurants taking a lunch break. Needless to say, it was starting to really frustrate Rider. 

“Oh come on, how hard is it to find him?” Rider growled as he sat down on a bench to take a break. “I’ve seen him here almost every single day and the one day I actually need him, Stealth just vanishes.” 

Sighing in frustration, the tan skinned inkling began looking around, when he noticed a rather familiar inkling leaving the tower. It was Stealth. Given that he had come out of the tower, he probably had been in a turf war. His earlier frustration forgotten, Rider stood up and walked over to the inkling. 

“Oi.” 

“Wha-” Stealth jumped at the sudden greeting. Turning around, he paled seeing who was behind him. “R-Rider...I didn’t expect to see you here.” 

“Yeah, well, whatever,” the older inkling replied brusquely. “I’ll be blunt. How’d you like to team up with me again?” 

“What?” Stealth clapped a hand over his mouth after his shout, a bit embarrassed at making so much noise. A few inklings around them stared at the pair, disproving looks on their faces. A few glares from Rider, however, chased them away. No one really wanted to mess with him. 

“What do you mean you want to team up with me? I thought we were a team for that one time only,” he continued more quietly once the unwanted attention had dissipated. “Besides, we weren’t that good, we lost to Team Blue.” 

“...that was due to poor planning on my part,” Rider sighed. “And I need the power of a team now. So what do you say?” 

“Ah…” Stealth was a bit bewildered. Was this really the same inkling that just a few weeks ago was saying he didn’t need a team? What on earth happened to change him? He was confused and flattered at the same time. After all, Rider apparently thought he was skilled enough to fight alongside him. That was something that the teen hadn’t been expecting, especially with how frustrated Rider had been after their loss to Team Blue.

“Sure, I’ll gladly join,” he finally said, a grin on his face. “Who else is on the team?” 

“I was going to ask Bamboo and Blazer. Do you have any idea where they are?” 

“Um…Blazer is probably at the library studying. You know how much she focuses on school,” Stealth said after a moment’s thought. “Bamboo...no clue where she is. Blazer would probably know though.”

“Alright,” Rider mused. “I’ll go find them and see if they're interested. Meet me in Sheldon’s firing range at four, okay? We’ll start practice then.” 

“You got it!” Stealth saluted before darting off into the crowds, hoping to squeeze in one or two more turf wars before practice. Rider watching him go, a slight smile on his face before shaking his head and heading for the library. 

* * *

Sure enough, he found Blazer there on the fourth floor, pouring over a thick book about the landfish that had walked the earth before them. In all honesty, it was something that he found boring, but the girl appeared to be fascinated by it. In fact, she was so enthralled by the book that she didn’t even realize that Rider was there until the teen tapped her on the shoulder. 

“Oh hi Rider,” she said cheerfully. “I didn’t see you. What’s up?” 

“I’m forming a team and I wanted to see if you were interested in joining,” he replied bluntly.

“Huh? You want to team up again?” She blinked in confusion, a hesitant look on her face. “Um...uh... I guess if Bamboo joins I’d be fine with it. I mean, we’ve been fighting together since we were little and I really don’t want to just straight up abandon her. It wouldn’t be right, you know? We promised each other we’d do turf wars together so you can see why I’m-” 

“I’m already planning on asking her,” Rider interrupted, his head swimming a bit from the girl’s long rambling answer. “You can come with me if you want.” 

“Okay, just let me check this book out real quick!” Blazer ran off to the circulation desk and handed the book to the librarian stationed there. It only took a few minutes before she was running back to Rider, book in tow and a smile on her face. “All set!” 

“Great, do you know where Bamboo is?” 

“Probably in her studio,” Blazer replied after a moment’s thought. “She said something about working on her wood carvings earlier. Come on, let’s go!” 

The studious girl lead the way to a small unassuming storefront, with tons of intricate wooden sculptures stationed in the windows. It appeared to be empty, but Blazer tried the door anyway. It opened, revealing a small and homely workspace filled with more sculptures and sawdusty air. In the midst of this was Bamboo, chiseling away at another log. 

“Bamboo! I came to visit, and I brought a visitor,” Blazer announced cheerfully. 

“Okay...oh it’s you,” the quiet girl replied, pausing her work and lifting the brim of her hat a little bit so she could see Rider better. “What do you want with me?” 

“I’m forming a team, and I wanted to see if you would be interested in joining us,” he responded in a somewhat gruff tone. 

“Eh...sure, you’re strong.” 

“Guess that means I’m in too,” Blazer cheered. “So, what’s next?” 

“We’re meeting at Sheldon’s firing range at four,” Rider said after checking his watch. “I trust you two will be there?” 

“Yep!” 

“Mhmm.” 

“Perfect. I’ll see you two later then.” 

With that, Rider walked out of the shop, the two girls inside calling out a few goodbyes before the door closed. With a slight grin on his face - Blazer’s good mood was apparently contagious - he headed for his apartment, intent on grabbing a few extra weapons before practice.


End file.
